When consumers launder fabrics, they desire not only excellence in cleaning, they also seek to impart superior fabric care benefits. Such care can be exemplified by one or more of reduction of wrinkles benefits; removal of wrinkles benefits; prevention of wrinkles benefits; fabric softness benefits; fabric feel benefits; garment shape retention benefits; garment shape recovery benefits; elasticity benefits; ease of ironing benefits; perfume benefits; color care benefits; anti-abrasion benefits; anti-pilling benefits; or any combination thereof. Compositions which provide both cleaning and fabric care benefits, e.g., fabric softening benefits, are known as “2 in 1” detergent compositions and/or as “softening-through-the-wash”-compositions.
In laundering, there exist unique and significant challenges for securing fabric care. EP 422 787 (Dow Corning Corp., published Apr. 17, 1991) describes liquid fabric softening laundering compositions comprising a silicone fabric softening agent which is a specific polyorganosiloxane free of reactive organic functional groups and/or a polysiloxane gum having a specific formula. The compositions deliver improved softening benefits and deliver cleaning benefits are the same time. WO 00/70 005 A1 (Unilever, published Nov. 23, 2000) describes fabric softening compositions comprising a nonionic fabric softening agent, an anionic surfactant and a cationic polymer for the purpose of improving the deposition of the softening agent onto the fabric.
In spite of the advances in the art, there remains a need for compositions providing improved cleaning and fabric care benefits in a single application. In particular, there remain important unsolved problems with respect to selecting compatible fabric care and fabric cleaning ingredients so that the combination of both provides uncompromising levels of fabric care. Furthermore, it remains particularly difficult to combine anionic surfactants and cationic fabric care beneficial agents in such a way as to secure superior fabric care at the same time as outstanding cleaning and formulation stability or flexibility.
Accordingly, objects of the present invention include to solve the hereinabove mentioned technical problems and to provide compositions and methods having selected surfactants and specifically selected cationic fabric care agents and optionally other adjuncts that secure superior fabric cleaning and superior fabric care.
One embodiment of the present invention is a liquid laundry detergent composition comprising at least one detergent ingredient, a coacervate phase forming cationic polymer and one or more fabric care ingredients. The combination of these ingredients provides superior fabric cleaning and superior fabric care benefits.
Moreover the invention has other advantages, depending on the precise embodiment, which include superior formulation flexibility and/or formulation stability of the home laundry compositions provided.
It has surprisingly been found that, given proper attention to the selection of the fabric care ingredient, unexpectedly good fabric care and/or consumer acceptance of the home laundry product are obtained. Moreover, superior fabric care or garment care benefits in home laundering as discovered in the present invention unexpectedly include benefits when the products herein are used in different modes, such as treatment before washing in an automatic washing machine, through-the wash benefits, and post-treatment benefits, including benefits secured when the inventive products are used in the rinse or in fabric or garment spin-out or drying in, or outside an appliance. Additionally discovered are regimen benefits, i.e., benefits of converting from use of a product system comprising conventional detergents to a product system comprising use of the present inventive compositions and compositions formulated specifically for use therewith. In particular, it has been found that the combination of a surfactant, a cationic polymer and one or more fabric care ingredients provides synergistic effects for fabric cleaning and fabric care. This is particularly true for fabric softening benefits, for anti-abrasion benefits, and for anti-pilling benefits or any combination thereof, imparted to fabrics which have been treated with the liquid laundry detergent compositions of the present invention.